Hickory – During the weekend of September 22nd-24th, filmmakers from around the world will be traveling to Hickory, North Carolina to show their films at the 3rd annual Footcandle Film Festival. Tickets are still available at www.footcandlefilmfestival.com.
The 2017 Footcandle Film Festival will be held at the Drendel Auditorium on the SALT Block, with films being shown between Friday, September 22nd and Sunday, September 24th. This year’s festival will bring thirty-three films to the Catawba County area, including short films, documentaries, and dramatic feature films. The festival opens with a Friday night “Short Films” event and reception in the adjoining Hickory Museum of Art, and closes with a dinner and awards ceremony Sunday evening at Moretz Mills.
Several of the films will be represented by their directors who will be attending the festival to discuss their films and meet festival attendees. A complete list of the films, their descriptions and trailers can be found on the festival web site (www.footcandlefilmfestival.com). All of the films playing at this year’s festival are reviewed by a panel of judges and are eligible for one of four awards to be presented at the end of the weekend.
Last year, the winning films were a documentary about the 1966 shooting on the campus of the University of Texas (Tower), a short film directed by a University of North Carolina School of the Arts student (I Only Smile in Pictures), and a German film about a conflict in a small village during World War II (Hear the Silence). The winners of this year’s four awards will be announced at the Sunday night Closing Ceremony and Dinner.
As a special kickoff to this year’s festival, the Footcandle Film Festival will partner with Lenoir-Rhyne University to host a night with screenwriters, directors and producers Chip White and Shea Sizemore on Thursday, September 21st at 7 p.m.in PE Monroe Auditorium. During the event White and Sizemore will discuss the art of writing for film and video. They will also share selections of their work during the discussion. The event is free and open to the public.
Chip White is originally from the shores of South Carolina and is the younger brother of Wheel of Fortune’s famous letter-turner Vanna White. He has over 30 years experience in the film, TV and video business. Chip moved to Los Angeles in the early 80s and spent the next 20 years working for some of Hollywood’s biggest companies, including King World, Sony, MTV, Vh1, Nickelodeon, and Discovery. In 2005 Chip relocated back to the Carolinas where he continues to produce and develop projects under the Stack 3 Productions banner.
Co-founder of Our Films LLC, Shea Sizemore is a writer and director that spent time at INSP TV where he wrote and directed feature films for theatrical and television release. In 2016, Shea directed his first feature Heritage Falls for INSP. He has produced programming for SPEED and Fox Sports, he also wrote and directed 2013’s A Chess Player, the 2015 My Luchador and the 2017 Crab Trap with producer Chip White.
Sizemore’s Crab Trap will also be shown as part of the Footcandle Film Festival, playing during a special “Narrative Short Film Block” on Saturday, September 23rd at 4:00pm.
In addition to screening films and presenting awards to filmmakers during the festival weekend, the Footcandle Film Society is also using the annual festival as a means to raise funds for a new Regional Filmmaker Grant program. This program would allow local and regional filmmakers to apply for grant funds to help finance an upcoming film project. The film society is using proceeds from the festival ticket sales to help build a fund with hopes of opening the grant process for filmmakers in 2018.
The festival is open to the public, and tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.footcandlefilmfestival.com and clicking the link on the home page to “Buy Tickets.” Tickets can be purchased with credit or debit cards; taxes and credit card charges will apply. Tickets will remain on sale up until the weekend of the film festival for any events that are not sold out.
Attendees also have the option of purchasing a Weekend Pass that provides tickets to all of the films, the Opening Night event, and the Closing Ceremony and Dinner for a discounted price.
The Footcandle Film Society has been screening and facilitating discussions on films in Western North Carolina since its inception in 2008. Through monthly film screenings, discussions, partnerships with various international and educational organizations, the film society has built a community of over 600 members that support film efforts in our region.
For any questions about the festival or ticket sales, please contact the Film Society at [email protected] or visit the festival’s web site at www.footcandlefilmfestival.com.
